Were Nook's Books Cooked? Barnes & Noble's Accounting Investigated by SEC

Bad news for Barnes & Noble this Christmas: the SEC thinks the bookseller's accounting practices may have been naughty. In Barnes & Noble's quarterly report filed last Thursday, the company noted that the SEC "notified the Company that it had commenced an investigation into: (1) the Company's restatement of earnings announced on July 29, 2013, and (2) a separate matter related to a former non-executive employee's allegation that the Company improperly allocated certain Information Technology expenses between its NOOK and Retail segments for purposes of segment reporting." Lands’ End announced that it's cooperating with the SEC on this matter.